


Babies

by vamprav



Series: Fluff Bingo 2019 [1]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Crowley Saved the Kids, Crowley Was Raphael Before He Fell (Good Omens), Fluff, Gen, Podfic Welcome, Protective Crowley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 13:52:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19442755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vamprav/pseuds/vamprav
Summary: First fill for Fluff Bingo. Prompt was babies.So I wrote the obligatory Crowley saves the kids fic.





	Babies

Crawley hadn’t always been a demon, actually none of the demons in Hell had always been demons but most of them tend to forget that. Crawly hadn’t forgotten, he’d never forgotten what he was and what he had been.

Crawly wasn’t like other demons and not just because he actively remembered Before. He hadn’t rebelled, hadn’t defied God in front of the rest of the Host, all he had done, all he had ever done, was ask a question.

Crawly had watched Lilith as she stumbled her way across the desert, barefoot and naked and he had felt… he hadn’t even known the name of the emotion at the time but it was the same protective wrath he felt right now.

He’d turned to the All Mighty with wings trembling and asked. “Why would you be so cruel?”

Crawly cradled the baby in his arms closer to his chest. This, this right here was why he had Fallen, this cruelty and lack of compassion. He shivered as the cold of the cave began to seep into his bones, desperately trying to raise the temperature of the air around him without catching the attention of any passing angels.

It was raining so hard that the rain was coming down in sheets outside. The cave Crawly had carved out the night before running on blind panic and as much energy he could scrape up on such short notice was cramped enough that body heat should be able to keep the air at temperature once he got it there.

He probably didn’t have enough power left to fly in the storm winds and rain but if it weren’t for the little baby girl in his arms he’d be trying. The towns closest to the river had probably already been swallowed up by the All Mighty’s wrath but there was still a chance that some families had gotten their children into boats.

He should be counting himself as lucky, if he’d been any less powerful he wouldn’t have been able to save those that he had reached.

The baby whimpered and Crawly bounced her a little, humming a fledgeling lullaby under his breath. One of the other children sturred and Crawly stopped humming but the toddler just shifted so that he could nuzzle further into the pile of children on his right.

There were at least fifty children arrayed around Crawly in various states of shock or unconsciousness, thirty of which were under ten and five of those were babies. Crawly may have bitten off more than he could chew, even with his considerable jaw.

There was a flutter of wings from outside the cave and he went still. It could be a bird trying to find shelter from the rain. It could be…

But the sound was too rich, too big to be a bird, to be anything other than an angel. An angel… the very thing that Crawly was trying to avoid.

Crawly’s wings bristled, fanning out in an attempt to shield the children from the being who was about to step through the mouth of the cave. The eldest child, a girl of only fourteen years reached for the blade she had tucked into the rope belt she had wrapped around her waist.

“Danger?” She asked.

“Maybe.” Crawly murmured and handed off the baby to one of the other older children still awake.

He moved his legs out from under the weight of several of the children and stood slowly. He slunk forward, shifting as he went, taking on his snake form with an ease that spoke of long practice. Crawly made himself bigger than he had been in the garden but not by much, the rattle on his tail shaking in warning.

“Crawly!” A familiar voice called out from the entrance of the cave.

“Azziraphale.” Crawly hissed. “What bringsss you here?”

Aziraphale stepped into the cave, a small smile on his face. He was still wearing the same white tunic he had been in earlier, not an ounce of armor on him, and he was soaked to the bone. The vibrant white wings he sported dripped dismally, giving him the general appearance of a half drowned fledgling.

Crawly felt something in his heart turn into a gooey pool of warmth. He spread his hood in response to the very distinct threat the angel brought to the children under Crawly’s care and attempted to ignore the feeling.

But the angel’s eyes were closed and that was the only thing keeping Crawly from swallowing him whole or biting him. He was almost certain that his venom would hurt like a bitch even after Aziraphale discorperated.

“Well, my dear.” Aziraphale said. “It came to my superiors’ attention that several of the children meant to die in the flooding survived and I was told to go look for them. If they remain in the valley it could cause problems, you see. Also this cave is below the flood line and I thought you might want to know before you found out for yourself.”

Crawly blessed under his breath as that warm feeling got more insistent. He knew what the feeling was, of course he did, but that didn’t mean that he was going ot fucking acknowledge it.

“Thanksss, angel.” Crawly hissed. “I’ll be on my way then.”

“Good, I’ll just be leaving then.” Aziraphale turned to leave the cave.

“Why are your eyesss closssed?” Crawly couldn’t help but ask the question, he really couldn’t.

“So I don’t see any ‘little sinners’.” Aziraphale flapped his wings and took off into the rain.

Silence rang through the cave like the tolling of an ancient bell. It abruptly occured to Crawly that the angel had known from the moment the children were brought up, exactly what Crawly was going to do.

And he’d still allowed it to happen. That warm feeling was starting to grow uncomfortably large in that place just behind his heart, were his soul sat.

“Damn.” Crawly folded his hood before turning back to look at the children, bracing himself for the terror he’d see in their eyes.

He didn’t get it, there was no fear in their eyes as they looked at him. The five children who were still awake were staring at him with eyes full of barely contained awe.

“God.” The eldest girl whispered. “A god saved us from the river’s wrath.”

Crawly winced, he should probably encourage this kind of behavior but being mistaken for his Mother or one of the barely formed beings the humans worshiped was incredibly uncomfortable. He needed to head this off before they got used to calling him a god.

“I’m jussst a sssnake, darlingss.” Crawly shifted back into his human form and took the baby girl back.

“Are all snakes like you?” One of the boys asked.

Crawly considered the question for a second and then shrugged to himself. What would be the harm in implying that they were?

“I am fairly unique but I am a snake at heart, just like any other you encounter.” Crawly said.

That should do it. It was vague enough that they had an explanation but they probably wouldn’t ask more questions.

The baby in his arms made a little whining noise and Crawly miracled a bottle into existence. He hummed and rocked the child as he fed her, the older children watching in open fascination.

“Go to sleep children, we’re going to need to leave in the morning.”

~*****~

The people of the small village on the coast where the Indus River met the sea stared in amazement at the procession of children walking down the beach, led by a man dressed in black. He held a baby in each arm and sang as he walked, his voice had clarity and beauty that no mortal man could manage.

As they watched the man handed the babies to a wild looking girl with rich black hair and gestured the children towards the village. When all the children had safely reached the outskirts of the village the man turned on one heel.

Between one breath and the next he had changed into a large, black snake. Then he vanished into thin air, leaving the children in the care of the villagers.


End file.
